Strategic marketing today, professional marketer

Professional marketers are not oblivious to criticism associated with marketing′s poor contribution to business success. 

Companies are justified in expecting more from marketing in return for the oftentimes huge budgets committed to building a brand, product launches, and strategic marketing functions, which ought to deliver critical information for strategic decisions to the top management.

What is marketing? What is the value of marketing? How do you justify this budget?

These may be some of the recurring questions directed to practitioners in the boardroom in times of questionable or poor performance.

Given that changes within and external to organisations are constant, the current and future success of marketing depends on recognising trends in the business environment and responding to them.

Despite the criticism, the facts show that globally marketing′s contribution to business performance is in its ascendancy and far from decline. 

Marketing orientation

Marketing orientation is synonymous with innovation, competition and productivity. Thus, marketing professionals must study cases and skillfully describe the steps that leading companies are taking to become truly marketing-orientated, and how they are meeting the new challenges they face. New opportunities keep emerging for market-led companies.

Big data will become a key basis of competition, underpinning new waves of productivity growth, innovation and consumer surplus as long as the right policies and enablers are in place.
Growth drives performance. It drives culture. It drives employee satisfaction. It helps companies retain the best talent, and it fosters innovation in the marketplace.

But it is important to grow profitably. Top-line-only growth tends to catch up with you over time. And while most organisations aspire to grow, it is found that growth is quite hard to achieve.

Research by Jill Zucker et. al, shows that only 25 per cent of companies grow sustainably over time. But if you can achieve it, that growth is rewarded, with sustainable growth outperformers generating seven percentage points more annual total shareholder returns than their peers.

Both local and foreign case studies and professional literature abound, which discuss the types of marketing strategies used to promote the products of businesses, the relationship between marketing and business performance, the challenges of marketing on business performance, and innovative ways that businesses can apply to overcome the challenges of marketing and become successful.

Research

In his research paper on Perceptions of Marketing and Approaches to Implementation, Prof. Kwaku Appiah-Adu presented the findings of an empirical investigation into the differences between the marketing orientation of foreign and domestic manufacturing firms in Ghana.

Specifically, he attempted to determine the marketing functions and to distinguish between the actual performance of marketing activities in the firms selected.

Data was obtained from 79 companies, representing local and foreign firms in eight foreign countries spread across Europe, North America and Asia. His analysis indicates that on the whole, foreign firms perceive marketing functions as more important and tend to perform more marketing activities compared with domestic firms.

He further highlights the managerial implications of his findings and discusses the study limitations alongside future research directions.

In a marketing interview, a candidate can expect to talk about their experience, interest in the industry in context, what value they envision adding to the team, and their general work preferences.

Additionally, the focus will turn towards their workflow and how they implement the skills they’ve highlighted. This is a time to really show off expertise.

As employers focus more and more on your soft skills (also called workplace skills), consider developing them by taking a course.

This programme covers presentation skills, communication skills, handling challenges, solving problems, and implementing solutions. Candidates can also anticipate getting answers to their questions about the job position or company. 

A marketer expertly applies knowledge, deep knowledge, and skills and abilities towards enhancing corporate value. Anything less, and marketing’s role and reputation suffer. 
Marketers must stay up-to-date with the latest marketing industry trends and techniques.

They may consider familiarising themselves with the latest marketing techniques and strategies by taking a course, particularly in digital marketing channels, analytics, campaign performance, AI and automation in marketing, and more.

Next arenas of competition

Arenas are industries that transform the business landscape. They are a unique category of industries defined by two characteristics: high growth and dynamism. They capture an outsize share of the economy’s growth, and the market shares of players within them change to an outsize degree.

McKinsey and Co. have identified 18 potential arenas of the future that could reshape the global economy, generating $29 trillion to $48 trillion in revenues by 2040.

These arenas range from AI software and services to cybersecurity, from future air mobility to drugs for obesity and related conditions, and from robotics to nonmedical biotechnology.

These future arenas could generate $2 trillion to $6 trillion in profit by 2040. 

Their collective share of global GDP could increase from four per cent today to 10 to 16 per cent by 2040.

Twelve arenas of today showed outsize growth and dynamism from 2005 to 2020. These industries include e-commerce, biopharma, electric vehicles, consumer internet, and cloud services.

They had a revenue CAGR of 10 per cent and market capitalisation CAGR of 16 per cent, and they tripled their global GDP share from three to nine per cent in the period.

By contrast, non-arenas had only a four per cent revenue CAGR and a six per cent market cap CAGR over the same period.

The many striking differences between the 12 arenas of today and non-arenas inform our understanding of the arenas of the future. Arenas earn far greater profits than other industries do, they spawn a disproportionate number of global giants, and they offer unusually strong opportunities for new entrants to become powerhouses.

Three combined ingredients in an “arena-creation potion” tend to generate the escalatory mode of competition that characterises arenas. The telltale elements of a forming arena are business model or technological step changes, escalatory investments, and a large and/or growing addressable market.

The presence of these elements can lead to escalatory competition among players, who make large investments to gain not only market share but also a product quality edge, compounding the benefits and further setting them apart from other companies in a race to the top.

Certain industries create more value and have a greater impact than others. We call these outperformers arenas of competition. They are defined by two characteristics: high growth and high dynamism.

Due to their growth, they capture an outsize share of the economy’s overall expansion; in terms of dynamism, market share within them changes hands to an outsize degree.

Understanding potential arenas is relevant for entrepreneurs and incumbent companies that want to compete directly in arenas, other companies that would be affected by the emergence of arenas, as well as investors looking to allocate capital to these industries, along with people seeking jobs in the winning industries of the coming decades, and policymakers interested in how and where these industries affect their nations.

Of course, no one can know the future, so McKinsey’s analysis includes a discussion of other industries that were considered for having some characteristic arena elements but ultimately were not selected because there is less certainty about high growth and dynamism.

Marketing, value creation engine

In today's fast-paced and highly competitive business environment, the traditional view of marketing as merely a tool for promoting products and services has evolved into a broader and holistic approach.

In his book "Marketing Management" Alexander Chernev's insightful perspective describes marketing as a value creation discipline for customers, the company, and its collaborators.

This approach underscores the importance of integrating marketing strategies across all facets of a company involving all staff, and transcending the confines of just the marketing departments.

Cherney discusses how value is created for customers, the company itself, and its collaborators, including suppliers, contractors, and more, emphasising the pivotal role of marketing as a value-creation engine.

Marketing is about the whole business working in alignment within the company and connecting with customers, suppliers and others. It also entails personalized communication and engagement strategies that resonate with the target audience, thereby fostering loyalty and driving long-term customer retention.

Integrating value creation

Stories about Ghana’s 100 leading companies showcase an integrated approach to value creation with value creation strategies.

Their comprehensive plans focus on delivering superior customer experiences, driving innovation, and being responsible businesses that contribute positively to society. 

These companies invest in cutting-edge technology to improve connectivity and services for customers, foster a culture of innovation and collaboration among employees, and actively participate in community initiatives aimed at social inclusion.

By aligning these efforts, a company creates value across the spectrum, reinforcing its market leadership and building a sustainable future.

Conclusion

Growth is the lifeblood of any successful business, but achieving growth that is both profitable and sustainable has proved especially difficult in recent years.

Business leaders need a strategic approach that combines courage, innovation, and a willingness to make bold moves. You may need to think about inorganic opportunities, both acquisitions and divestitures. Building functional capabilities, whether it’s marketing or digital or innovation.

Marketing, as Alexander Chernev eloquently positions it, transcends traditional boundaries to become a cornerstone of value creation for customers, the company, and its collaborators.

This comprehensive approach underscores the importance of integrating marketing efforts across all levels of the organization and beyond, highlighting the role of marketing as a vital engine for growth, innovation, and competitive advantage.

In an era where customer expectations are continually evolving, and the business landscape is increasingly complex, the imperative for marketers and businesses is to embrace marketing as a value-creation discipline and not just strategic but essential for sustained success.

Whilst large corporations tend to be the focus of examples, the principles outlined in positioning marketing as a value-creating practice apply equally well to the SME and family business sectors.

Small businesses are more agile and closer to their communities and customers than large companies. Accordingly, it is often easier for them to create greater relative value than their larger counterparts.

The writer is a pharmacist, chartered marketer & management consultant.